Mounting for ship{40 s anchor

ABSTRACT

A ship&#39;&#39;s anchor, suspended from a cable or chain which passes around a guide roller at the bow of a ship, is provided near the top of its shank with a short transverse bar, parallel to the plane of its flukes, coming to rest on two large-diameter cheeks of the guide roller when the anchor is hoisted. Additional bearing elements for the anchor shank may be provided on deck, inwardly of the guide roller, to afford three-point support for the hoisted anchor; one of these elements, engaging the free end of the retracted shank, may be spring-loaded to thrust the anchor overboard when the chain or cable is slackened.

Umted States Patent [151 3,704,680 Uher 1 Dec. 5, 1972 s41 MOUNTING FOR SHIP 'S ANCHOR 2,831,450 4/1958 Schiele ..114/210 72 Inventor: Edmund Uher, Zug, Switzerland 3,074,370 1/1963 Seiger ..1 14/210 2,931,331 4/1960 Uebelhoer ..114/210 [73] Asslgneez Uher Patent AG, Zug, Switzerland 22 Filed; No 9, 1970 Primary Examiner-Milton Buchler Assistant ExaminerF. K. Yee [21] Appl' 87881 Attorney-KarlF. Ross [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Nov. 7, 1969 Germany ..P 19 55 986.5 A ships anchor, suspended from a cable or chain Aug. 6, 1970 Germany ..P 20 39 083.4 which passes around a guide roller at the bow of a ship, is provided near the top of its shank with a short U.S. transverse bar parallel to the plane of flukes com- Cl. to rest on two large diameter checks of the guide [58] held of Search "114/210, 206 208 roller when the anchor is hoisted. Additional bearing 114/208 A elements for the anchor shank may be provided on deck, inwardly of the guide roller, to afford three- [56] References C'ted point support for the hoisted anchor; one of these ele- UNlTED STATES PATENTS ments, engaging the free end of the retracted shank, may be spring-loaded to thrust the anchor overboard 1,640,672 8/1927 Schauman ..114/210 when the chain or cable is slackened 1,749,193 3/1930 Schauman et a1. ..114/210 3,147,731 9/1964 Stuart ..114/210 10 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHEE 51972 3,704,680

sum 1 0F 3 PRIOR ART FIG.5 FIG.6

INVENTOR.

EDMUND UHER BY ATTORNEY PATENTED 5 I97? 3 7 04,6 8 O SHEET 2 IF 3 I N VEN TOR EDMUND UHER BY may! 3 203! ATTORNEY P'A'TEN'TEDMI: 6 I912 3,704,680

SHEET 3 of 3' INVENTOR,

MOUNTING FOR SHIP 'S ANCHOR My present invention relates to a shipboard mounting for a ships anchor of the type wherein a pair of more or less coplanar flukes extend from opposite sides of a shank at the lower end thereof whereby, with proper orientation of the flukes, the anchor may be hoisted about a guide roller overhanging the deck of the ship so as to come to rest on that roller after having been pulled up by its chain, cable or equivalent elongate flexible suspension means.

The hauling of the anchor aboard ship in this fashion, aside from demanding a positioning of the flukes in a plane substantially parallel to the roller axis, involves difficulties since the center of gravity of the anchor is low so as to act with a long lever arm upon the point of contact between the shank and the roller when the former is to be swung about the latter into a generally horizontal position, this point of contact being in turn rather close to the roller axis so that only a short moment arm is available for effecting the swing. Thus, both the raising and the lowering of the anchor into and from its retracted position require strong forces which frequently necessitate an over dimensioning of the parts; direct manual assistance is usually needed, especially during the weighting operation, so that remote control from the bridge is out of the question.

The general object of my invention, therefore, is to provide an improved mounting for a ships anchor of the character described which avoids the aforestated difficulties and which enables such anchor to be taken up or let down even in heavy seas and with a reduced expenditure of force, e.g. by remote control from a helmsmans post.

A more specific object is to provide a secure lodging on deck for safely holding the retracted anchor against rolling and heaving motion of the ship.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide the shank'of the anchor at its upper end with a short transverse member, e.g. a bar, which lies substantially parallel to the plane of the flukes and whose extremities come to rest on a pair of parallel, enlarged cheeks of the guide roller upon being hoisted to the level of that roller, these cheeks forming arcuate guide paths for the aforesaid extremities with a radius substantially greater than that of the roller body so that the ratio of force arm to load arm becomes more favorable.

As the transverse member at the top of the shank rides up the peripheries of the roller checks, the shank itself comes to lie between these cheeks and contacts the roller body about which it is then swung into its generally horizontal resting position. A further lengthening of the effective moment arm at the point of attack of the hoisting force, i.e. at the top of the shank, is possible by letting the extremities of the transverse anchor bar be intercepted by a pair of downwardly open recesses on two upwardly swingable arms flanking the guide roller, these recesses describing an are which is tangent to the guide paths formed by the peripheries of the roller cheeks and whose radius is substantially greater than that of these cheeks.

Another improvement afforded in accordance with the present invention resides in the provision of bearing elements mounted on deck inwardly of the guide roller to contact the shank of the retracted anchor at opposite edges so as to form, together with the roller body, a

three-point support for the recumbent shank. One of these bearing elements, pressing against the free end of the shank, may be designed as a spring-loaded carriage to thrust the anchor overboard upon a slackening of the chain or cable attached thereto, this being particularly desirable where the deck of the ship has a downward and inward slope so that the anchor may not slip readily out of its bearing under its own weight.

The above and other features of my invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a bow of a ship equipped with a conventional guide roller for the hoisting chain of a Danforth-type anchor;

FIG. 2 is a front view of such an anchor modified in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a modified guide roller according to the invention engaged by the anchor of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IVIV of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views similar to FIG. 4, illustrating different anchor positions;

FIG. 7 is a side-elevational view of an overhanging guide roller similar to that of FIGS. 3-6 but provided with lateral arms to intercept the rising anchor;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the roller and anchor in an inoperative position;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7, drawn at a larger scale and showing a deflector designed to prevent the parts from assuming the inoperative position of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a front view of the assembly of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is another side view similar to FIG. 7, showing a pair of bearing rollers spaced inwardly from the guide roller;

FIG. 12 is a front view of the guide roller assembly of FIG. 1 1;

FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 11, showing the parts in a different position;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13 but for a modified bearing system; and

FIG. 15 is a top view of the assembly of FIG. 14 with the anchor removed.

In FIG. I I have shown the bow portion of a ship I7 carrying on its deck 2 a bracket 1 on which a conventional guide roller 3 for a hoisting chain 6 of an anchor 5 is joumaled by a horizontal shaft 4. Anchor 5 has a shank 5a with a pair of flukes 7 (see also FIG. 2) extending on opposite sides of the lower end of that shank. As the chain 6 is tensioned by the associated hoisting mechanism (not shown in FIG. 1) as indicated by an arrow A, the anchor 5 tends to swing clockwise about the point of contact 3a of its shank 5a with the roller surface. It will be noted that the moment arm of the applied force, i.e. the radius of roller 3, is a small fraction of the length of the shank 5a; with the weight of the anchor concentrated near the bottom end of this shank, the corresponding load arm (i.e. the distance of the center of gravity from point 30 as projected upon a horizontal plane) becomes much greater than the force arm when the anchor approaches its horizontal position. Thus, especially with heavy anchors, considerable stress must be exerted upon the chain 6 and the links of that chain as well as the shank itself may have to be made much heavier than would otherwise be required.

This inconvenience is avoided by the improved construction illustrated in FIGS. 2 6 wherein the conventional guide roller 3 with its low end flanges has been replaced by a roller 9 having a pair of cheeks 10 whose diameter is substantially greater than that of the roller body, e.g. twice as large (as specifically illustrated). A transverse bar 8 at the top of shank a spans the two cheeks so that its extremities come to rest on their peripheries, following an arcuate guide path 11 (FIG. 4) as tension is exerted upon the chain 6. With the chain hugging the roller body, the anchor 5 successive ly assumes the positions shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 (full lines), finally tilting about the roller body as shown in dot-dash lines in FIG. 6. The distance x indicated in FIG. 6 represents the moment arm of the force at the beginning of this swing, i.e. when the load arm is still zero; with continuing tilting of the anchor, both the load arm and the force arm increase.

A more rapid increase in the force arm may be realized by the construction illustrated in FIG. 7 where a pair of lateral bracing arms 12 (only one shown), flanking the roller 9, are pivoted to the mounting bracket 1 of that roller at 13 so as to be upwardly swingable about a horizontal axis remote from the shaft 4. A downwardly open recess 12 at the free end of each arm 12 is aligned with the guide path 11 of bar 8 in the normal position of the arms in which they are held by respective stops 22 projecting sideways from the bracket 1. The ends of bar extend sufiiciently far beyond the cheeks 10 of roller 9 to be intercepted by the recesses 12' of the arms 12 as the bar 8 rises along the roller periphery through an arc of about 45 above the horizontal midplane of roller 9; beyond this point the bar is constrained to follow an arcuate path centered on the pivotal axis 13 of the arms 12 which thereby lift it off the roller cheeks 10 while the shank 5a remains in contact with the roller body. The moment arm of the applied force is now substantially represented by the vertical projection of the effective length of arms 12 and is of the same order of magnitude as the load arm referred to above.

The bracing arms 12 alongside roller 9 may also be used in the embodiments described hereinafter, having been omitted in subsequent Figures for the sake of clarity.

FIG. 8 shows an inoperative relative position of anchor 5 and roller 9 with the bar 8 lying skew to the roller shaft 4. Since such a relative positioning will prevent the anchor from being swung upwardly about the roller as described above, means should be provided to insure the correct orientation of the rising anchor as the bar 8 approaches the level of the roller. For this purpose, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, I prefer to mount a deflector 14 on the bracket 1 below the roller 9, this deflector being generally wedgeshaped and having a pair of lateral surfaces l5, 16 which converge along a downwardly convex lower guide edge 14' which forms part of a crescent-shaped outline and whose radius of curvature increases from the front to the rear (i.e. to the right as viewed in FIG. 9). Edge 14', resembling the keel of a boat, projects into the path of the improperly oriented bar 8 and deflects it toward the desired position, parallel to roller shaft 4, to an extent sufficient to insure that the ends of the bar come to bear upon the cheeks 10 during the continuing rise of the anchor. With the chain 6 confined between the roller cheeks 10, the bar and therefore the anchor are positively centered with reference to the roller.

FIGS. 11 13 show the provision of additional bearing elements on the deck 2 of a ship 17 equipped with my improved guide roller 9 overhanging its bow; in contradistinction to the preceding Figures, roller support 1 is here shown substantially flush with the deck 2. A bracket 26 on the deck has an upper roller 18 and a lower roller 19 journaled thereon, by means of shafts 20 and 21, to engage the upper and the lower edge of the shank 5a of anchor 5 when the latter has been retracted after being swung around roller 9 in the aforedescribed manner. With the lower part of the shank 5a still resting on the body of roller 9, and with its upper part held in position by the two grooved bearing rollers 18, 19, the anchor 5 has three-point support and is effectively immobilized against dislodgment even in the presence of strong winds and waves. A further abutment is afforded by the stops 22 (only one shown) which engage the flukes 7 to arrest the inward movement of anchor S as its chain or cable is tensioned by a capstan 40 forming part of the hoisting mechanism. This mechanism, if automatically operated by an electric motor, may also include a limit switch (not shown) in place of or in addition to stops 22 to arrest the withdrawal movement of the motor. Such withdrawal causes the bar 8 of anchor S to move along a curved path 27 (FIG. 13) which merges with guide path 11 and is exactly centered on the swing axis 13 of the arms 12 (FIG. 7) if they are included in the system. With chain 6 passing between rollers 18 and 19, and with bracket 26 having a width B (FIG. 12) large enough to accommodate the shank 5 and its cross-bar 8, the shank is automatically drawn into its seat between the two grooved rollers during the hoisting operation. When the chain 6 is slackened by a reversal of the rotation of capstan 40, the weight of anchor 5 causes the shank 5a to slide out from between these rollers and to assume its vertical position before descending into the water.

The bearing structure 18, 19, 26 may also be used as an anchorage for a rope 25 attached, for example, to a forestay of the ship 17 if the latter is designed as a sailing vessel. Rope 25 is shown tied to a rod 24 spanning a pair of lugs 23 traversed by the upper roller shaft 20.

The bulwark of the vessel, shown at 28 in FIG. 11, is partly cut away to accommodate the bracket 26 on the deck.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the lower roller 19 may be replaced by a sliding carriage 29 mounted on a pair of inclined rods 30 and 3], eg of square profile, which are fixed in an extension 26 of the otherwise unchanged bearing bracket 26 carrying the upper roller 18. Carriage 29 comprises a pair of sleeves 29 29" nonrotatably slidable on rods 30, 31 against the force of a pair of tension springs 34, 34" which are fastened to the deck 2 at 33 and to the carriage at 32. The sleeves 29', 29" have upstanding hooks adapted to engage the ends of bar 8 in the nearly horizontal anchor position of FIG. 14 so that, upon further retraction of the anchor 5 by the chain 6, carriage 29 is displaced to the right against the force of springs 34 and 34". With the capstan 40 indexed by a locking pawl or the like to hold the anchor retracted, the three-point mounting of l06009 Ol37 shank 5a again prevents any untimely dislodgment thereof. When the hoisting mechanism is reversed for paying out the chain 6, the springs 34 and 34" contract to restore the position of FIG. 14 in which the center of gravity of the anchor lies well to the left of roller 9 so that, by inertia and in view of its inclined position, the anchor will slide overboard.

It will be understood that the specific structure described and illustrated may be modified, e.g. by combining the two roller supporting brackets l and 26 into a single frame.

lclaim:

1. In combination, a ships anchor and a shipboard mounting therefor including hoisting means and an elongate flexible suspension member connecting said anchor with said hoisting means, said anchor having a shank with a weighted bottom and a cross-bar at its top; said mounting further including a bracket overhanging the ships deck, a guide roller journaled on said bracket, said guide roller being provided with a pair of enlarged parallel cheeks confining said suspension member between them and forming arcuate guide paths for the extremities of said cross-bar upon a hoisting of the top of said anchor to the level of said guide roller, and bearing means on said deck inwardly of said guide roller engageable with said shank upon an inward swinging thereof into a generally horizontal retracted position about the top of said guide roller, said bearing means comprising an upper contact element and a lower contact element spaced apart with said suspension member disposed therebetween.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting further comprises a rigid deflector underneath said guide roller for engaging said member upon a rise of said shank to said level to hold said member parallel to the axis of said guide roller.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said deflector is generally wedge-shaped and has a pair of lateral surfaces converging along a downwardly convex edge toward the rising path of said shank.

4. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting further comprises a pair of upwardly swingable arms flanking said guide roller and forming downwardly open recesses movable about a horizontal axis in an arc tangent to said guide paths for intercepting the rising extremities of said cross-bar deviating same from the peripheries of said cheeks, the radius of said cheeks being substantially less than the distance of said recesses from said axis.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting includes a pair of lateral stops near said guide roller engageable with said flukes in the inwardly swung position of said shank.

6. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein at least said upper contact element is a grooved roller.

7. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said lower contact element is a spring-loaded carriage guided generally horizontally for thrusting said anchor overboard upon a slackening of said suspension means.

8. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises a supporting bracket for said contact elements dimensioned to receive said shank with lateral clearance sufficient to accommodate said member.

9. In combination, a ships anchor and a shipboard mounting therefor including hoisting means and an elongate flexible suspension member connecting said anchor with said hoisting means, said anchor having a shank with a weighted bottom and a cross-bar at its top; said mounting further including a bracket overhanging the ships deck, a guide roller journaled on said bracket, said guide roller being provided with a pair of enlarged parallel cheeks confining said suspension member between them and forming arcuate guide paths for the extremities of said cross-bar upon a hoisting of the top of said anchor to the level of said guide roller, and a pair of upwardly swingable rigid arms flanking said guide roller, said arms forming downwardly open recesses movable about a horizontal axis in an arc tangent to said guide paths for interceptingthe rising extremities of said cross-bar and deviating same from the peripheries of said cheeks, the radius of said cheeks being substantially less than the distance of said recesses from said axis.

10. The combination defined in claim 9 wherein said arc merges with said guide paths at a point located along the periphery of said guide roller about 45 above a horizontal midplane of said guide roller. 

1. In combination, a ship''s anchor and a shipboard mounting therefor including hoisting means and an elongate flexible suspension member connecting said anchor with said hoisting means, said anchor having a shank with a weighted bottom and a cross-bar at its top; said mounting further including a bracket overhanging the ship''s deck, a guide roller journaled on said bracket, said guide roller being provided with a pair of enlarged parallel cheeks confining said suspension member between them and forming arcuate guide paths for the extremities of said cross-bar upon a hoisting of the top of said anchOr to the level of said guide roller, and bearing means on said deck inwardly of said guide roller engageable with said shank upon an inward swinging thereof into a generally horizontal retracted position about the top of said guide roller, said bearing means comprising an upper contact element and a lower contact element spaced apart with said suspension member disposed therebetween.
 2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting further comprises a rigid deflector underneath said guide roller for engaging said member upon a rise of said shank to said level to hold said member parallel to the axis of said guide roller.
 3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said deflector is generally wedge-shaped and has a pair of lateral surfaces converging along a downwardly convex edge toward the rising path of said shank.
 4. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting further comprises a pair of upwardly swingable arms flanking said guide roller and forming downwardly open recesses movable about a horizontal axis in an arc tangent to said guide paths for intercepting the rising extremities of said cross-bar deviating same from the peripheries of said cheeks, the radius of said cheeks being substantially less than the distance of said recesses from said axis.
 5. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting includes a pair of lateral stops near said guide roller engageable with said flukes in the inwardly swung position of said shank.
 6. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein at least said upper contact element is a grooved roller.
 7. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said lower contact element is a spring-loaded carriage guided generally horizontally for thrusting said anchor overboard upon a slackening of said suspension means.
 8. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises a supporting bracket for said contact elements dimensioned to receive said shank with lateral clearance sufficient to accommodate said member.
 9. In combination, a ship''s anchor and a shipboard mounting therefor including hoisting means and an elongate flexible suspension member connecting said anchor with said hoisting means, said anchor having a shank with a weighted bottom and a cross-bar at its top; said mounting further including a bracket overhanging the ship''s deck, a guide roller journaled on said bracket, said guide roller being provided with a pair of enlarged parallel cheeks confining said suspension member between them and forming arcuate guide paths for the extremities of said cross-bar upon a hoisting of the top of said anchor to the level of said guide roller, and a pair of upwardly swingable rigid arms flanking said guide roller, said arms forming downwardly open recesses movable about a horizontal axis in an arc tangent to said guide paths for intercepting the rising extremities of said cross-bar and deviating same from the peripheries of said cheeks, the radius of said cheeks being substantially less than the distance of said recesses from said axis.
 10. The combination defined in claim 9 wherein said arc merges with said guide paths at a point located along the periphery of said guide roller about 45* above a horizontal midplane of said guide roller. 